Axios New Orleans

March 26, 2026
Morning, cher! It's Thursday.
Today's weather: Patchy fog then mostly sunny. High of 81.
🎧 Sounds like: "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers, who are at the Smoothie King Center tonight. Tickets.
Today's newsletter is 794 words — a 3-minute read.
1 big thing: 🤑 Renting vs owning

Renting is cheaper than owning a home in New Orleans, according to a new LendingTree analysis.
Why it matters: Housing costs have soared nationwide, with stubbornly high home prices and mortgage rates weighing on would-be buyers.
The big picture: The median monthly gross rent in New Orleans was $1,262 in 2024, based on the latest available census data, compared to $1,972 a month for mortgaged homes.
- That's a 60% gap — one of the widest gaps among large U.S. cities.
- Nationally, homeowners with a mortgage now pay about 37% more per month than renters, researchers found.
- The gap widened from the year before as homeownership costs rose faster than rents.
Zoom in: The figures include utilities, fees and taxes, but not insurance.
- Louisiana consistently ranks among the most expensive states for coverage.
- Last year, homeowners here paid $6,274 on average in annual premiums, according to Bankrate.
- In the New Orleans area, homeowners spend nearly 17.5% of their median annual income on home coverage, Bankrate found.
What they're saying: "The cost disparity here could be enough to convince someone that they'll never be able to own a home in some areas, and — unfortunately — they may be right," said Matt Schulz, LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst, in a statement.
- Homebuyers may have to move elsewhere to find a place within reach, he says.
What we're watching: President Trump proposed a raft of policies meant to lower mortgage rates and boost homebuying demand.
- Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a few industry-friendly bills aimed at lowering insurance costs by bringing more insurers to the state.
- But making housing more affordable is easier said than done.
2. 🔎 Where rents are falling most

A building boom across the South and Mountain West has cooled rents — but that relief could fade as new construction slows.
Why it matters: Housing is unaffordable for many. Although the median U.S. rent for new leases is down 1.5% from a year ago, it's still roughly 20% above pre-pandemic levels, at $1,400 a month, per Apartment List.
- And a new Harvard report finds a record number of renters are "cost-burdened," spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.
Zoom in: The median rent in Austin, Texas — a building hot spot — was down nearly 6% this February from a year earlier.
- It fell roughly 5% in New Orleans, San Antonio and Denver, according to data from Apartment List, a rental site.
Between the lines: High building costs and a glut of supply have made developers cautious about starting new projects.
- When new units do arrive, they're mostly luxury apartments.
Meanwhile, more people are renting — partly because homebuying remains out of reach — keeping rents from falling much further nationwide.
What we're watching: Fewer people move in the colder months.
- Expect rents to climb nationally as the peak summer season nears.
3. Fully Dressed: ⚓️ Algiers Ferry out of commission
⛴️ The Algiers Ferry won't run next week due to construction at the terminal. RTA suggests using the bus instead. (Press release)
🏥 Touro evacuated some patients after a fire yesterday in its parking garage. No injuries were reported. (WDSU)
🏀 Will Wade again? Multiple reports emerged yesterday that LSU is interested in reuniting with the first-year N.C. State head coach. (Axios Raleigh)
⛪️ Gayle Benson and Archbishop Frank Checchio met with Pope Leo this week, promoting the city as a destination for a future papal visit. (The Times-Picayune🔒)
- The pope has Creole roots on his mother's side. (Axios)
🍔 The Ted's Frostop building will be demolished to make room for Tulane student housing. The diner will operate out of a food truck until the new building is finished next year. (WWL)
🌊 The National Hurricane Center is rolling out new forecast maps with watches and warnings for inland areas, among other changes. (Press release)
4. ✈️ TSA staffing crisis escalates
More than 450 TSA agents have quit in the last six weeks, a top DHS official told lawmakers yesterday — and more could leave soon.
- More than a third of agents have been absent lately at MSY. ICE started assisting at screening lines here this week.
- A deal to fund DHS, which oversees TSA and ICE, fell apart Tuesday amid bipartisan pushback in Congress.
Threat level: Officials warned yesterday that even if the shutdown ends soon, TSA won't be able to staff back up before the busy summer travel season.
- TSA union leaders also predict more departures ahead.
🍋 Carlie is making tabbouleh, salad dressing and lemonade with the lemons she caught at parades.
🐣 Chelsea is on parental leave.
Tell a renter to subscribe.
Thanks to our editor Crystal Hill, who thinks the rent is still too damn high.
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